Grape Cluster Flask

CultureRoman
Titles
  • Grape Cluster Flask
Date1–300 AD
MediumMold blown glass
Dimensions5 1/8 × 2 × 2 in. (13 × 5.1 × 5.1 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number70.82
Non exposé

Explore Further

Department
Antiquities
Object Type
Description

The greatest revolution in the history of glassmaking occurred in the first century BC with the discovery that air could be blown through a pipe into heated, liquid glass to produce a variety of shapes and sizes. This new technique was simple and fast. It spread throughout the Roman Empire, aided by the prosperity and stability of the Pax Romana, or Roman Peace.


 Mold-blowing techniques led to the creation of glass vessels that imitated real objects. In the first century, artists working in the Middle East were inspired by favorite foods. This flask mimics grapes. It is naturalistic, with three lobes forming the bunch of individually articulated grapes. The purple color enhances its realistic appearance.


 Glass quickly ceased to be exclusively a luxury item and soon replaced ceramics in daily life. Both practical and beautiful, glass could be made in many forms and colors, with or without decoration. Each vessel was handcrafted and therefore a unique work of art.


Provenance[Ray Winfield Smith (c. 1897–1982), Houston, by 1970]; purchased by MFAH, 1970.
Exhibition History"Containers and Vessels" The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston October 21, 1989–January 1990 Subsequent tour

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Double Head Flask
1–200 AD
Mold-blown glass
70.81
Bunch of Green Grapes
19th or 20th century
Jade
96.1848
Bunch of Red Grapes
19th or 20th century
Agate (?), jade or serpentine (?)
96.1852
Bunch of Grapes
19th or 20th century
Carnelian, jade or serpentine (?)
96.1851
Young Dionysus with a Nymph
Giovanni Maria Benzoni
1866
Marble
96.1150
Dish
11th–13th century
Glass; mold blown, tooled, and worked on the pontil
70.101
Bottle
12th–13th century
Glass; mold blown, tooled, and worked on the pontil
70.107
Purse
c. 1600
Gilt metal and silk
94.817
Candlestick
Edward Wakelin
1755–1756
Sterling silver
91.1428.A,.B
Candlestick
Edward Wakelin
1755–1756
Sterling silver
91.1427.A,.B